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Southfield pastor left wife then remarried improperly

Cornelius (Neil) Davis Jr., the senior pastor of a prominent Southfield church, has taken a leave of absence after allegations that he left a wife and two children more than 30 years ago and later remarried — without ever obtaining a divorce.

That would mean that his subsequent marriages — including a current marriage that has lasted more than 25 years and a second alleged by his son — were never legally valid in the first place, according to legal experts.

Davis' first wife filed a lawsuit in July seeking a divorce and alimony.

But in a letter to his congregation, Davis said he “assumed a divorce had taken place” and that the marriage was “very rocky and unhealthy,” involving a cycle of drugs, alcohol and extramarital affairs.

“Rhythm and blues got the best of me,” he said. “My faith compels me to face this matter honestly, and I began to take steps to care for this situation.”

His family said Davis should have stepped up years ago.

"He’s lied and neglected and abandoned his family only to go on and marry two more times,” said Davis’ son, Trade Stevens, who now lives in New York. “He needs to be accountable for his actions.”

Davis is the pastor at Hope United Methodist Church, a position he has held since July 2014 when he replaced its longtime senior pastor, the Rev. Carlyle Fielding Stewart III.

He has risen through the ranks of the church for the last 20 years and previously did social work as well as serve 10 years as a U.S. Army administrator and personnel specialist, according to the church’s website.

The website also says that he has been married to Lela Brown-Davis for more than 25 years.

But this summer, he was served with a complaint for divorce from a Detroit woman named Jaletta Davis — who separated from him in 1983 and had not been in contact with him for more than 30 years since, according to court papers.

The couple’s decade-long marriage ended in separation because of “a history of abuse laid on her and her two children,” the divorce complaint alleges.
Cornelius Davis refers to the separation in his statement. He writes, “Respecting the wishes of my former spouse to stay away from her and the children, I disconnected with them altogether. My rationale for leaving my family was that I believed I was in no condition to do anything that would be helpful.”

But the divorce complaint was spurred all these years later in part by Jaletta’s daughter, Karisa Davis, who now lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Earlier this year, Davis said she realized that her mother could look into whether she ever formally divorced, because she might be entitled to compensation.

“This man’s gotten off scot-free forever,” Karisa Davis said. She later added, “I just want the truth to be heard about him.”

In the complaint, Jaletta Davis goes on to request an equitable division of their property. Davis never remarried and was getting by on Social Security checks of $700 a month, according to the complaint.

Cornelius Davis, in a court-filed response through an attorney named Neil Davis, confirmed that the two had never divorced — but denied the allegations of abuse and denied that there was any property to divide.

The divorce proceedings were just getting started. But more than a month later, on Aug. 27, Jaletta Davis suddenly died from a heart attack. She had dealt with health issues before: she had four stents and two prior heart attacks.

Davis’ death also came four days before she was supposed to fly to Ft. Lauderdale to live with Karisa Davis, who had already bought her a Sept. 1 plane ticket. Davis was about to turn 60, and her daughter had planned a celebration in Florida.

But with her passing, the divorce matter was effectively over. Her attorney, William O’Leary, said that it seems unlikely the family could take any other kind of legal action.

“It can only be described as sad,” O’Leary said. “Ms. Davis saw this now as something she was emotionally ready to do ... and died before it was done.”

But even more recently, church officials began looking into the situation. The Rev. Charles Boayue, Superintendent for the Detroit Renaissance District of the United Methodist Church, said that Davis asked for, and was granted, a leave of absence. The congregation was informed about the absence on Thursday night. The church has about 4,200 members, according to its website.

“There will be a thorough review of this matter,” Boayue said. “Let us hold the Southfield congregation and the entire Davis family in prayer at this time.”

If someone marries again without formally divorcing, that second “marriage” is not valid, said Lisa Stern, a family law attorney based in Bloomfield Hills.

That comes with potentially serious consequences: The couple’s children would be legally out of wedlock, which means the father doesn’t have custody rights unless he petitions for them and wins.

And if the wife is registered on his health insurance, that could be considered health insurance fraud, Stern said.

That complicated marriage status even played a role in Jaletta Davis’ cremation. When Karisa Davis told the funeral home that her mother was technically still married, she found out she would have to get a signature from her father, since he was still legally the husband — even if the two hadn’t spoken in more than 30 years.

So Karisa Davis showed up at Hope United Methodist Church, located on Northwestern Highway not far from Lawrence Technological University, and managed to arrange a meeting with her father the next day, she said. It was the first time they had spoken since Davis, now 39, was 16.

In the meeting, the pastor told her that the issue had been “eating at him for a long time,” and donated $1,000 for his wife’s funeral, she said.

They met one more time, a few days later, on Sept. 9. That’s when Karisa Davis recalls him saying, “Remember that I’m your father and remember that you’re not alone and I’m here for you now.”

Davis’ biography on his website never made mention of his children from a previous marriage. It once read, “He is married to Lela-Brown Davis for over 25 years. They have two adult children.”

That last part now reads: “He is the proud father of six adult children.”